Topic: RMC for Fantasy Grounds II

[Foen]

As Vroomfogle has already mentioned, there is a project under way to implement RMC for the Fantasy Grounds platform.  Vroomfogle is doing much of the leg work on tables and C&T, and I'm leading on the FG coding side of things.  Stuart Miller (I'm Stuart Woodard) is heading up the project.

I thought it might be useful to start an occasional project blog: I'm not going to commit to weekly updates, but I'll post something here when there is something new to say.  I thought it might also be interesting to post screen shots of the product as it develops and a Dev's point of view on progress etc.

I'll post the first entry when a get a spare few minutes, with a summary of where we are and a quick look at the character sheet.

Major health warning: This is out-of-the-tin RMC with no options. It is a heck of an endeavour to code RMC in the first place, we'll think about options once the base ruleset is published.

Foen

[Foen]

OK, first off a brief intro to Fantasy Grounds (with apologies to folks who already know about this product).

What is Fantasy Grounds?

Fantasy Grounds II (FGII) is a chat-like medium for playing RPGs over the internet, it is not a game in its own right, but rather a mechanism for playing games.  The analogy is like a deck of cards: the cards aren't a game, but you can use them to play games with, providing you also have a common view of the game rules.  In FG terminology, a 'ruleset' defines the game mechanics and brings FG to life.

FG is available from www.fantasygrounds.com where a demo version is also available.  Note that the demo only allows the default d20 ruleset to be used and has limited functionality.

What Platforms Does it Run on?

Unfortunately, FG is currently a Windows-only product.  There, I've said it up front

Mac users have reportedly been able to run FG using emulation software, but its close links with Windows DirectX means few emultors can handle the graphics requirements.  The FG developers (SmiteWorks) have announced plans to port the software to the Mac, but I wouldn't recommend anyone buys it solely on those plans.

As regards different Windows flavours, XP and Vista both work, and it seems to cope well in 32-bit and 64-bit modes.

What Rulesets are Available?

There are fan-written rulesets (the most popular of which is a 4E D&D-compatible ruleset) and commercial, licensed rulesets (such as Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds, d20 3.5E and soon there will be Rolemaster Classic).  Fan rulesets are often very good, but cannot usually be freely redistributed for copyright reasons.  Commercial rulesets (mostly written by Digital Adventures) have the full support of the game licence holder, and typically cost about $10 (they vary).

How Much Does All This Cost Then?

The basic FG engine (together with a free bundled d20 3.5E ruleset) comes in two types: a Full Licence which is used to host/GM a game; and a Lite Licence which is used to play.  The Lite Licence costs less, but there is no upgrade path between them.  If you think you might want to GM a game in the future, then it is probably worth buying a Full Licence from the outset.  I don't have the costs to hand, but I think it is about $15 for a Lite Licence and $25 for a Full Licence.

Once the Licence has been bought, there are no subscription charges to play.  This makes FG a very reasonable platform for regular play and compares somewhat favourably to MMORPGs, for example.

Having bought the FG engine, only the GM needs to buy a copy of the ruleset, so getting a group together to play a new RPG is fairly cheap.  The ruleset licences are also perpetual and have no subscription fees.

What Does it Look Like?

The graphical skin of each ruleset is generally very different and is often one of the last pieces of development.  The screenshot below shows the RMC draft ruleset (being developed by Digital Adventures under licence from ICE) which currently is still using the d20 skin.  This will change significantly in the coming months until it has its own look and feel, but the underlying components will remain unchanged.

(Image to be inserted when I can upload it to my server)

I'll cover the various screen elements in later posts, but the main parts are the chat box (left side of the screen) which works a bit like IRC chat, but has the results of die rolls etc.  The bulk of the rest of the screen is the virtual table top, for arranging maps, character sheets, images etc.

I'll cover the RMC character sheet in a post later today (when I'm not on lunch-hour at work!), and it will start to give the feel for what is being developed.

Foen

[dutch206]

Better you than me. 

[vroomfogle]

Foen, welcome to the forums!

For now I'll just add that although this is an RMC ruleset, the approach we've taken to coding has made it very flexible.   I think this is a vitally important aspect since RM is such a heavily modified system.    In fact, with just a few extensions (these are plugins that can modify or enhance an existing ruleset) added to this RMC ruleset it would be quite usable for RMSS games, the biggest thing that would be lacking would be the actual texts from the books.

[Winterknight]

Very excited to see this come about.

For combat in FG2:
1) Will the critical text/combat resolution have an automated function, or will GM/Players have to look up the results in in-game references?
2) If automated, will the damage values be based on an algorithm for easy scaling past 150, or will they simply be arrays of data like the tables?

[Foen]

The combat will be partially automated, which means AT vs attack roll, together with standard adjustments (like penalties for hit loss etc) will be looked up on a table and the results displayed to the GM.  The GM can then amend the outcome to reflect nuances, house rules or just plain fudges, before the results are applied.  I'll include a screen shot in a future post on how combat works.

As regards algorithms vs tables: this will follow RMC standard rules and use tables.  Vroomfogle mentions the ability to replace functionality by using extensions - the initial cut will have limited extensibility, but we'll look into increasing the scope of this as the ruleset goes through play-testing etc.  The possible use of algorithms may be an area for future extension.

Cheers

Foen

[Foen]

Missing screen shot:



BTW, how do I edit a previous post?

Foen

[vroomfogle]

I think editing one's message is limited to 15 minutes or so.   If you can edit it there would be a "Modify" button in the post.

[Foen]

Ahh, thanks. Must remember not to leave hanging edits from my lunch-hour!

Foen

[Foen]

OK, a quick tour of the character sheet and I'm done for this time 

The ruleset provides a decent place to store each character's info, much like a paper character sheet, but divided between different tabs.  Top of the pile is the front page of the sheet, with many of the familiar RM notes:



Light-shaded numbers are calculated fields and can't be directly edited.  The racial adjustments are made easier by being able to drag the race from the Character Law reference onto the character sheet: it then populates all the adjustment fields automatically, but also allows them to be edited for campaign-specific racial adjustments.

The combat tab has a place for regular weapons, martial arts skills and armour:



The full weapon data isn't shown here (it opens in a new window, by clicking the grey square to the left of the weapon name) but I'll cover it when I run through the combat facilities.  Weapons from the Arms Law reference can be dragged and dropped here, and the attack tables freely modified.

The skills tab includes detail on how the skill bonus is calculated, the rank and level bonuses etc.  Home-grown skills can be added, or they can be dragged and dropped from the primary and secondary skills lists in the Character Law reference:



Double-clicking or dragging a skill name will roll the skill chance for you (hence the dice icon).

The spells tab keep track of spell lists known.  In this screen shot the details of a particular list (Delving Ways) are also show, opened by clicking on the grey square to the left of its name:



Clicking on a spell name provides the full Spell Law text description, or the scroller control (bottom right, golden-coloured) can be used to scan all the spell descriptions on the list.

The inventory tab keeps track of kit carried, weight/encumbrance and BMR, and the accumulated wealth of a character:



The 'Enc?' check box allows players to specify if a particular item is to be included in the current weight/encumbrance calculation or if it is to be excluded (for example if it has been dropped at the feet of the character or is stowed on a pack animal but still needs to be referenced/remembered).

The final tab allows both players and the GM to keep notes about the character:



As you might expect, the GM notes are not visible to the player but allow the GM to keep track of specific conditions (curses, diseases) or other facts about the character.

Hopefully that has provided a brief look into the FG RM implementation.  I'll pick another topic for next time!

Cheers

Foen

[Winterknight]

This is really outstanding, and has me double-stoked.  Maybe even triple.

I'm assuming that by selecting the box to the left of the skill names in that page's list, that a full description of the skill will pop up, along the same lines as the weapons and spell descriptions?

For skills that are moving maneuvers, will there be a link to the MM table, and will clicking on the skill roll generate a result from that table?  Or will it simply generate a roll+skill bonus total in the chat interface?

In the dice interface, will there be pre-selected icons for % rolls, open-ended high % rolls, and double open-ended rolls, rather than just the assortment of d20 dice that currently pops up?

I have to tell you already, that just with the character sheet and the proposed functionality, even if the combat weren't automated, this would be a great product.  My gang will be beating on me to host a game, once this is available.

[vroomfogle]

Hi Winterknight,

Yes, the skills do link to a skill box that has the info for that skill: description, skill type (MM, SM, etc), stats, armor penalty, etc.   Skills that are MM, when rolled will automatically send that roll to the server (GM) into a queue.  When the GM then decides to resolve that roll he clicks on it and it will open up the MM table.   Foen will probably post screenshots of the table resolution once he gets it to a decent point.

The dice in FG are an issue.  See the first screenshot above - the normal d20 dice are on the side and the normal dice area has percentile dice: d100, d100OE, and d100OEhigh.   

I'm glad you are so stoked about it, I think it has great potential to increase the RM fan base.

[Winterknight]

Ah, missed the dice icons at the bottom of that first screenshot.  Thx.

For my group, this is ideal.  I've got a small cadre of players that are geographically separated (due to military service, primarily) and we just don't get to do the face-to-face gaming.

Naturally, I'm one of the folks who chops up the rules quite a bit, but with so many of the features built in, I can work around the few that are outside of the box.  Being able to add new skills alone is fantastic. 

If you guys need some playtesters, let me know.  We're mostly combat type guys (almost never a spellcaster in our group), but we could make an effort anywhere you needed it.

[Foen]

Hi Winterknight

Vroomfogle has it right, but I thought it might also be handy to show a few more shots.

Skills have a full description behind them as this screen shot shows:



It is also worth pointing out a few things:

• The padlock icon in the top right of the skill sheet allows a skill to be locked and unlocked.  It prevents accidentally deleting or changing the contents and is player-controlled.
• The Group field allows skills to be displayed together on the character sheet.  Compared to the previous screen shot (which had grouping switched off) the character sheet above, behind the skill sheet, shows the group titles with each skill listed under them.  By default the grouping corresponds to the basic skill type (OB, MM, SM etc), but it is a freely editable field so you can group by combat vs spell use vs modern skills etc.
• The armour penalty field allows a degree of automation to be applied and takes a multiplier number.  For example a skill which is unaffected by armour has a zero multiplier, a skill which is normally affected has a one times multiplier, whereas a skill like swimming might have a three times multiplier.

The next screen shows the first view of a weapon sheet:



This hasn't been filled in much but shows the editable detail available for each weapon, based on its attack characteristics.  The following screen shows the defensive characteristics of the same weapon:



This is important for shield/bash weapons and those such as main gauche, but is available to all weapons.  Weapons and shields share much of the same features.

I hope that explains a bit better how the character sheet works.

Cheers

Foen

[Winterknight]

*drools and moans in his best Homer Simpson impression*

[Foen]

OK, a preview of the table-resolving stuff... please note these are GM screen shots: the players are not aware of the outcome of their rolls.

The first screen shows the opening view of the table resolver (for attacks and MM rolls):



The main areas of the window worth examining are the roll stack in the bottom left which keeps a queue of incoming player rolls, the roll/modifier area in the top left which summarises the current roll (more of that below), and the table grid on the right.  This shot shows the resolver opened on the beak/pincher table in a 'browse' mode, so no outcome is selected.

The second screen shows what happens when a roll from the stack is selected for resolving:



The difference here is that the modifiers for the attack (based on the attacker and the defender) are shown as a list in the roll/modifier area and summarised at the top left, and the outcome is highlighted in the grid on the right.  The AT column has been selected automatically, based on the AT of the target.

Right-clicking on the outcome shows the results of any critical/fumble by bringing up a second grid below the attack/MM grid:



The roll/modifier list is editable so the GM can influence the result to reflect unique situational modifiers, including which column (AT or critical degree) is used.  The outcome from each grid (such as hits from the upper grid and crits from the lower one) can be dragged to a character sheet or enemy (NPC) sheet.

Note: The tables shown in the screens are indicative and not meant to reflect actual weapons

Cheers

Foen

[Foen]

OK, this is just a quick run-through of the combat sequence.

Combat in FG centres around a window called the combat tracker:



This is the GM's view and shows every combatant and a summary of their status.  This tracker currently shows two centaurs (one hidden from view, which is why the eye icon above its name is obscured) and a player character, Yndia. The green spot on one centaur indicates that it has taken minor damage (in terms of hits).

The player's view contains less detail:



The player cannot see the second centaur and only has limited information on the first centaur.  The GM controls how much information a player can see - in this case he has generously allowed players to see the status indicator (green at the moment) as it might be reasonable for a player to know roughly how cut-up an opponent is.

Each tracker entry contains much more information than is shown on the summary line.  Some of the icons in the right hand side of the tracker (sword/shield, figure and book) allow extra detail to be displayed.  If the sword/shield icon is pressed or the mouse is hovered over it, a combat (attacks/defences) section becomes visible:



Here you can see that Yndia has two attacks, a long sword and a composite bow.  This section of the tracker also allows each attack to be allocated to an opponent (Yndia has both attacks allocated to the centaur), and similarly with defences (Yndia has none).  You can see that attacks also have an associated Arms Law table, and that the long sowrd uses the Broadsword table (ALT-04).

To make an attack roll, the player or GM double-clicks on the attack OB (shown with ghost-images of dice behind it) and the tracker works out the various modifiers.  Just taking a quick look at the centaur in more detail, you can see it has a shield giving it a 15 DB bonus:



After the dice are rolled on the player's screen, the attack resolver window then opens on the GM's screen:



This was a lucky roll (while writing this post I rolled a natural 100, with a second roll of 26!), and the total defence bonus (10 DB plus 15 for the shield), the long sword's adjustment for AT3 and Yndia's 65 OB are included in the calculation to show 25 hits with an E-Slash critical.  Right-clicking on the 25ES cell, the GM can open the critical table:



Either the player or the GM then rolls for the critical (I rolled 30 in this example) and the result is shown.  Both the 25ES and the critical result are then dragged back to the poor centaur on the tracker window:



The tracker now shows the effect section and adds the wound details to the centaur.  These will be taken into account for future actions by the centaur and effects such as bleeding will be applied each round until they are cured or expire.  The health indicator has also moved to orange.

The intent of the FG ruleset is to automate where helpful, but also to leave the GM in control: the GM can select different results from the tables (or even change which table is used) and can select or deselect the bonuses/penalties included in the calculations.

Foen

[Foen]

Just a quick note to say the folks at ICE have granted me a blog on the main site, so I'll be using that medium in future.  I'll be restarting from the beginning, so appologies about the repetition!

Fantasy Grounds Blog

Stuart